Irving Lehrman; founding rabbi Miami Beach temple
Hyfler/Rosner
Rabbi Irving Lehrman performed bar mitzvahs, marriages and
funerals for thousands at Temple Emanu-El, the Miami Beach
congregation he served for 50 years. He died Friday at 94.;
BYLINE: BY ELINOR J. BRECHER; ebre...@herald.com
Dr. Irving Lehrman, the founding rabbi of Miami Beach's
landmark Temple Emanu-El and a champion of interfaith
dialogue around the world, died Friday, leaving a legacy of
dedication to Jewish education symbolized by the day school
that bears his name.
Family members said Lehrman, 94, a 12th-generation rabbi,
died about noon at Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he had
been treated for bronchitis earlier in the week.
Lehrman, long afflicted by hardening of the brain arteries,
according to his widow, Belle, stepped down from the
Emanu-El pulpit in 1993 after 50 years.
By that time, he had served on numerous White House task
forces, led interfaith missions to Israel, received scores
of honors for his work preserving Jewish life for succeeding
generations and for improving relations with the Roman
Catholic Church.
Rabbi Solomon Schiff, executive vice president of the
Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami, said Lehrman was
''committed to tolerance and understanding of other faiths,
because if we can appreciate the sources of other faiths,
each of us is enriched.''
PROUD OF DAY SCHOOL
What Lehrman called ''the jewel in the crown'' of Emanu-El
was the Lehrman Community Day School, which opened in 1960
at 727 77th St. in Miami Beach. The street was renamed
Lehrman Drive in 1986.
Richard Lehrman, a Miami lawyer, said his grandfather
believed that ''as few Jews as there are, passing the torch
was critical. None of us would be here if previous
generations had not educated their children, even if they
were starving. . . . His mission was to make the world a
better place.''
Rabbi Lev Herrnson, who heads the day school, said it would
be closed on Monday for Lehrman's funeral, during which the
students will sing.
Lehrman was the heart and soul of Emanu-El, a Conservative
congregation. When the temple underwent a major renovation
in 1999, his office was left untouched.
''There's no one in the latter half of the century that
meant as much to the growth of the Jewish community in South
Florida,'' said state Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, whose
wedding Lehrman performed eight years ago. ''The footprint
of the Jewish community in South Florida is his.''
Lehrman was as renowned for his thought-provoking sermons as
he was for his charcoal portraits of famous people he
admired -- from opera diva Maria Callas to prizefighter
Rocky Marciano, from Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir to
President John F. Kennedy.
His last portrait was of Stephen Muss, Fontainebleau Hilton
owner and Emanu-El benefactor, in 1999, Belle Lehrman said.
PAPAL BLESSING
In 2000, Lehrman was among the first non-Catholics in the
Archdiocese of Miami to be honored with Pope John Paul II's
blessing for humanitarian collaborations with the church.
''Our community has lost a great man and a wonderful
religious leader,'' archdiocese leaders said in a statement
Friday.
Another of the papal honorees, former Knight Ridder Chairman
Alvah Chapman, called Lehrman ''an icon among the spiritual
leaders in the Jewish community. He also was eminently
respected by our entire community.''
But none of the proclamations, plaques or accolades meant as
much to Lehrman as the lives he influenced, said his widow.
''People are always the most important,'' said Belle
Lehrman. When they told him about accomplishments of things
he had started, that's what he treasured the most.''
The couple met while the future rabbi was studying at
Brooklyn Law School. They would have celebrated their 70th
anniversary on May 21.
A NATIVE OF POLAND
Lehrman was born in Tiktin, Poland. The family emigrated
when Lehrman was 6, and his father, a rabbi, took over an
Orthodox congregation in Spring Valley, N.Y.
Belle Lehrman, herself a rabbi's daughter, said her husband
was ''exposed to the Conservative movement'' through her
family 'and saw a richness and openness that he could relate
to. He decided, 'This is what I really want,' '' and was
ordained at New York's Jewish Institute of Religion.
LOVED SOUTH FLORIDA
After serving four years at a synagogue in Montclair, N.J.,
Lehrman joined the Miami Beach Jewish Center and ''fell in
love'' with South Florida, his widow said.
His powerful sermons -- which often tied current events to
Talmudic teachings -- made him so famous that many
congregations wooed him to lead them.
So he made a proposal: ' 'If you want me to stay, you've got
to build me a synagogue,' '' his widow said. ''In no time at
all, they began to build this gorgeous structure'' across
the street from what is now the Jackie Gleason Theatre of
the Performing Arts.
ADMIRED BY LEADERS
Leon Tenenbaum, Emanu-El's president, said that because of
Lehrman, ''every single prime minister of Israel'' attended
services at the synagogue.
In addition to his wife and grandson Richard, Lehrman is
survived by his son, Dr. David Lehrman of Miami Beach; his
daughter, Dr. Rosalind Lehrman of Miami; his sister, Claire
Pearl of Orlando; grandsons Steven, Michael and Robert
Lehrman, and six great-grandchildren.
Services will be held 1 p.m. Monday, at Temple Emanu-El,
1701 Washington Ave., with burial at Mt. Nebo Cemetery, 5900
SW 77th Ave. in Kendall.
Contributions can be made to the Rabbi Irving Lehrman
Endowment Fund at the temple.
Herald staff writer Matthew I. Pinzur contributed to this
report.